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LOS ANGELES (AP) - Ash fell like snow and heavy smoke had residents gasping for air Monday as a huge Southern California wildfire exploded in size, becoming the fifth largest in state history and driving celebrities from a wealthy hillside enclave.

WASHINGTON ― A federal judge on Monday aggressively questioned a Justice Department attorney about the Trump administration's contention that it can continue holding an unnamed U.S. citizen ― who has asked for an attorney ― out of the reach of lawyers who wish to represent him.

An attempted terrorist attack which injured five people at one of New York's busiest commuter hubs has been caught on video. The 27-year-old suspect, Akayed Ullah, can be seen lying motionless after his bomb prematurely exploded. The Isil-inspired attacker was seriously injured along while four other people, including a police officer, suffered minor injuries. The suspect in the incident at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, a block from Times Square, is being held in custody and has been named as Akayed Ullah by the New York Police Department (NYPD). The weapon was based on a pipe bomb and was fixed to the suspect with zip ties and hook and loop fastens, police said. New...

A fierce wildfire raged on north of Los Angeles Sunday, threatening other towns after already charring vast swaths of land, but other blazes were largely contained after burning for days. The so-called Thomas fire is only 15 percent contained, now threatening the city of Santa Barbara and the nearby coastal town of Carpinteria, and is on track to become one of the worst wildfires in California history. Packing to evacuate now," actor Rob Lowe, who lives in Santa Barbara, wrote on Twitter.

An unidentified man was widely hailed as a hero - and occasionally reprimanded as foolish - after being filmed plucking a rabbit from the side of a highway while fleeing a Southern California wildfire.

President Donald Trump told attendees at Thursday night's Hanukkah celebration at the White House that the party was "all about Jerusalem," referring to his decision the day before to recognize the holy city as the capital of Israel

Congressional investigators have discovered that British publicist Rod Goldstone, who set up Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with a Russian lawyer last year, later sent multiple emails to a Russian who helped arrange the meeting and one of the elder Trump's top aides, CNN reported Thursday.

A white former US cop was sentenced to 20 years in prison Thursday over the fatal shooting of an unarmed black motorist -- a case that sparked mass protests and anger over excessive use of force by police. The death of Walter Scott in April 2015 was one of the most shocking in a series of high-profile US police shootings, often involving minorities, that have deepened tensions and added to distrust between officers and the communities they serve. Michael Slager, who worked for the North Charleston police department, was charged with murder in state courts, proceedings that ended in a mistrial last year.

Destructive wildfires have torn across thousands of acres in Southern California since Monday night, destroying homes, forcing evacuations, and displacing thousands of residents as a result. In the days since, nightmarish photos and videos of three massive wildfires in the Los Angeles area have been widely circulated. On Thursday morning, one video in particular seems to have struck a chord for its sweetness: A brief clip that appears to show an unnamed man rescuing a rabbit from the blaze in Ventura County. SEE ALSO: Wildfires lead to hellish scenes for Los Angeles commuters The man in the clip from RMG News (shared on Twitter by ABC News) reportedly declined to share his story on...

Palestinians watch a televised broadcast of Trump announcing US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in Jerusalem's Old City. In a move condemned by most of the world, Donald Trump has announced the US will recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Donald Trump told the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, that he plans to move it to Jerusalem. Donald Trump appeared on the verge of formally recognising Jerusalem as the "capital of Israel", in a move that would upend decades of US presidential diplomacy and could trigger unrest across the Middle East. The suggestion came ahead of a key speech on the issue on Wednesday, as Trump called the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and other Arab leaders, to tell them that he plans to move the US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Former U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, once a powerful Florida Democrat, was sentenced Monday to five years in prison for fraud and other crimes related to a purported charity for poor students that she used as a personal slush fund.

By Emelia Sithole-Matarise HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's new president Emmerson Mnangagwa swore in his cabinet on Monday, with allies defending him against criticism for giving top posts to the generals who helped his rise to power. Sworn in as president on Nov. 24 after 93-year-old Robert Mugabe quit following a de facto military coup, Mnangagwa has also come under fire for bringing back several faces from the Mugabe era, including Patrick Chinamasa as finance minister. Air Marshall Perrance Shiri, who was handed the sensitive land portfolio, defended his appointment in remarks to reporters after a simple ceremony to take oaths of office.

Abu Dhabi on Sunday denied a claim by Iran-backed Huthi rebels that a missile fired from Yemen reached its air space or threatened a nuclear power plant set to open in 2018. "The National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority denied claims by the Huthis in Yemen that they launched a missile today towards the airspace of the United Arab Emirates," the Emirati state news agency reported. The authority sought to dampen fears that Abu Dhabi -- and specifically the Barakah nuclear plant -- was vulnerable to attack, saying the UAE "has an air defence system capable of dealing with any threat of any kind".

The fighter is configured to carry 19,000 pounds of fuel and 18,000 pounds of weapons. It can fire two AIM-120 air-to-air missiles and two 2,000-pound Joint Direct Attack Munitions. The F-35C can reach speeds up to Mach 1.6 and travel more than 1,200 nautical miles. The Navy's stealthy carrier-launched F-35C is now moving much closer to combat readiness after conducting "carrier qualification" exercises from the USS Carl Vinson off the coast of Southern Calif., service officials said.

HONOLULU ― A real estate developer in Hawaii is under scrutiny for its plans to build a residential high-rise that has two separate entrances: one for high-income residents and another for low-income earners.

By Jeff Mason and Jan Wolfe WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that actions by former national security adviser Michael Flynn during the presidential transition were lawful, and that he had had to fire him because Flynn had lied to the FBI and the vice president. The president's comment suggested he may have known Flynn lied to the FBI before he urged the FBI director not to investigate his former adviser, legal experts said. Flynn is the first member of Trump's administration to plead guilty to a crime uncovered by special counsel Robert Mueller's wide-ranging investigation into Russian attempts to influence last year's U.S. presidential...

Donald Trump on Saturday tweeted his defiance over the guilty plea made by his former national security adviser Michael Flynn, writing that the general's "actions during the transition were lawful". The president passed comment on the same day it the New York Times reported that a "veteran FBI counterintelligence agent" was removed in the summer from special counsel Robert Mueller's team investigating Russian meddling in the US election, after the discovery of an exchange of anti-Trump text messages. The New York Times also reported that emails "among top transition officials" showed Flynn did not act independently in contacting Russian officials, as the White House has claimed.

Julie Comeaux's 17-year-old son, Matthew, is a student with special needs. The alternative diploma, attained through the LEAP Alternate Assessment, Level 1 (LAA1) graduation pathway, allows students with severe disabilities to forgo typical academic expectations and requirements, and it doesn't end with the high school diploma.

Grand-Bassam (Ivory Coast) (AFP) - European and African leaders have set themselves a tall order to stamp out horrific abuse of African migrants in Libya, where thousands are suffering in a vast, lawless territory. Hundreds of thousands more -- "400,000 to 700,000," according to AU Commission head Moussa Faki Mahamat -- remain stranded. "It is a step in the right direction," International Organization for Migration (IOM) Europe Director Eugenio Ambrosi told AFP by phone from Brussels.

The family of an aspiring US model found dead with her throat cut on a rural Jamaican road say they are "broken beyond repair". Désirée Gibbon's body was found in the town of Anchovy, located around five miles from the popular tourist destination of Montego Bay on Jamaica's north coast, on Sunday morning. The 26-year-old, from Queens in New York, had flown to the Caribbean island in October on a three-month working visa to save up enough money to attend film school in Europe. Ms Gibbon, who last spoke to her family on Thanksgiving and was due to fly back home this week, had been staying at her grandmother's hotel on the island while looking for work as a bartender. Her Jamaican...

A lobster caught in Canada with a Pepsi logo imprinted on its claw is drawing attention to the harmful impact rubbish can have on the ocean, conservationists say. The branded crustacean was trapped by a fishing crew off the Canadian island of Grand Manan, New Brunswick, on 21 November. Karissa Landstrand told CBC she was banding and loading lobsters into a crate for transportation to a buyer when she spotted the instantly recognisable red and blue logo of the fizzy drink. "I can't say how he got it on," Ms Lindstrand, who posted the image on Facebook, said. "It seemed more like a tattoo or a drawing on the lobster rather than something growing into it." She told Canadian media it...

Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, was found not guilty Thursday in the homicide of Kate Steinle, a case that has become a flashpoint for the right in calling for stricter immigration rules.